Metabolomic Analysis And Membrane Transport Proteins In The Malaria Parasite
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,875.00
Summary
The malaria parasite is a single celled organism which invades the red blood cells of those it infects. There is no vaccine and the parasite is becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs that we have available. There is therefore an urgent need for new antimalarial strategies. Research in this area has been helped by the sequencing of the genome of the parasite. However we still don t know what most of the genes in the parasite do, and it is not a straightforward matter to find out. One of the ....The malaria parasite is a single celled organism which invades the red blood cells of those it infects. There is no vaccine and the parasite is becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs that we have available. There is therefore an urgent need for new antimalarial strategies. Research in this area has been helped by the sequencing of the genome of the parasite. However we still don t know what most of the genes in the parasite do, and it is not a straightforward matter to find out. One of the things hampering us in our efforts to develop new antimalarial drugs is our relatively poor understanding of the sorts of biochemical pathways that the parasite relies on to support its high rate of growth and replication inside the red blood cell, as well the biochemical mechanisms that enable it to becomes drug-resistant. In this study we will use a range of modern analytical techniques to carry out the first detailed survey of the biochemical composition - the so-called metabolome - of the parasite. We will investigate how this changes in response to nutrient deprivation, in response to mutations in genes which play a key role in antimalarial drug resistance and in response to changes in the expression of genes encoding proteins which we believe to be involved in the uptake of nutrients by the parasite. This project will provide us with a wealth of new information about the biochemical make-up of the parasite, and it will provide new insights into the biochemical pathways that are operating and which might be targeted with new drugs. The work is likely to provide new insights into mechanisms of antimalarial drug resistance. It will also form the basis for a strategy that is likely to be extremely useful in helping us to ascribe function to the many genes involved in the biochemistry of this important human pathogen.Read moreRead less
Translation Of MRS For Determining Human Pathology Into The Clinic: Acceptance Testing For Breast, Prostate And Barrett'
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,000.00
Summary
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), for many organs, provides the pathological diagnosis with an accuracy approaching 100%. In the case of breast lesions, it discriminates accurately between benign and malignant and, for overt carcinomas, predicts the status of the regional lymph nodes without the need to biopsy the node. For some lesions, such as Barrett’s oesophagus, distinction between dysplasia’s of no immediate concern to the patient and those apparently committed to early progression to ....Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), for many organs, provides the pathological diagnosis with an accuracy approaching 100%. In the case of breast lesions, it discriminates accurately between benign and malignant and, for overt carcinomas, predicts the status of the regional lymph nodes without the need to biopsy the node. For some lesions, such as Barrett’s oesophagus, distinction between dysplasia’s of no immediate concern to the patient and those apparently committed to early progression to clinical cancer, can be made by the MRS method. A statistical classification method, (SCS) has been developed whereby there are now mathematical classifiers available for the testing acceptance of the method in the clinical setting. Acceptance testing of MRS technology, with the mathematical classifiers integrated in the automated software, for the pathology and prognosis from a biopsy specimen in: · Breast clinic (Dr Malycha, Royal Adelaide) for both pathology and nodal involvement from fine needle aspiration biopsy · Gastrointestinal clinic (Dr Falk. Strathfield Private) for Barrett’s oesophagus · Urology clinic (Dr Katelaris, Sydney Adventist Hospital) for prostate.Read moreRead less
Advancing Enhanced Biosecurity Of Major Arboviral And Other Vector-borne Diseases In Australia Through Near Infrared Spectroscopy Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$754,983.00
Summary
Infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks represent a significant health threat to the Australian biosecurity. Current detection methods for these pathogens are expensive, time consuming and require highly trained personnel. We propose to conduct a set of experiments to test an innovative, real time technique based on infrared light to identify infected mosquitoes and ticks and demonstrate its capacity as surveillance tool for vector control programs against these pathogens.
Novel Fluorogenic Probes For The Selective Detection Of Pathogenic Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,489.00
Summary
Current methods for the detection of multi-resistant organisms either require expensive instrumentation and expert analysts or are simple, but require 24-48 hours for bacterial identification. The ideal surveillance method would be cost effective, rapid, reliable, and simple to perform. This project aims to prepare a range of fluorescent substrates for incorporation into growth media which will then be evaluated for the specific identification of individual multi-resistant organisms, e.g. MRSA.